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KOF Employment Indicator Improves in Q3

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A "more encouraging" outlook for the Swiss labor market led to an improvement in employment conditions in the third quarter of 2026, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said Monday.

The KOF employment indicator rose to 2.1 points from the revised 1.6 points in the prior quarter, slightly higher than its long-term average of 1.7 points. Meanwhile, the net balance of employment expectations for the next three months jumped to 2.5 points from 1.2 points, with more companies intending to create additional jobs outnumbering those planning layoffs.

On a sectoral level, the employment situation brightened among wholesale companies and eased among those in manufacturing, but both segments remained in negative territory. In the hospitality sector, the indicator fell to its lowest level since the second quarter of 2021, while that for other services remains in positive territory.

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